Coastal Communities and the Currents of Vulnerability: A novel approach to Australian sea level rise adaptation research

Abstract

Sea levels are rising at an unprecedented rate. Using a novel approach in Australian sea level rise (SLR) adaptation research, this Honours thesis uses three case studies in New South Wales - Botany Bay, Lake Macquarie and Collaroy-Narrabeen - to consider the broad threat of rising sea levels to coastal communities. First, document analysis of current sea level rise adaptation plans shows that each local council perceives “adaptation as resilience”, prioritising the exposure of the built-environment over human vulnerability. However, using socio-spatial mapping highlights the inadequacy of current approaches, which by neglecting the currents of social vulnerability create incomplete perceptions of risk. Evidence of potential climate disadvantage – the simultaneous threat of ecological exposure and social vulnerability – in both Botany Bay and Lake Macquarie, is augmented by the identification of a vulnerable sub-population in Collaroy-Narrabeen. These findings underline the inadequacy of each councils’ risk-based adaptation policies. Last, the community-based research used in this dissertation demonstrates three clear benefits: (1) enabling community members to assign the factors that contribute to their own vulnerability; (2) highlighting social factors integral to individual and community vulnerability; and (3) including the voices of marginalised residents excluded from current decision-making processes. The research concludes by recommending that risk-management approaches adopt social vulnerability assessments to ensure existing disadvantage isn’t compounded by rising sea levels or adaptation planning.